Pastor Claims Police Stopped Him From Feeding Homeless

Birmingham, Ala. (CBS Atlanta) – A pastor was stopped by police for feeding the homeless because of a new city ordinance regulating food trucks.

Pastor Rick Wood of The Lords House of Prayer in Oneonta explained that two weeks ago police shut down his operation of providing free food to the homeless because they didn’t have a permit from the city to serve food in Linn Park, WBMA reported.

“That makes me so mad,” Wood said. “These people are hungry. They’re starving. They need help from people. They can’t afford to buy something from a food truck.”

The police explained to him that he would need a permit from the health department to operate a food truck.

“I’m just so totally shocked that the city is turning their back on the homeless like this,” he said. “It’s like they want to chase them out of the city. And the homeless can’t help the position they’re in. They need help.”

A new city ordinance passed in December that regulates where and when food vendors can park their trucks and interact with the general public. But the ordinance doesn’t mention anything about feeding the homeless.

Wood still plans on feeding the homeless with his food truck, despite police stopping him once.